A campaign that British beauty brand Lush says is meant to “highlight abuse that people face when their lives have been infiltrated by undercover police” has sparked backlash over claims that it brands law enforcement officers as liars.

Lush has teamed up with activists for Police Spies Out of Lives, which offers support to those negatively affected after having “intimate relationships with undercover police officers.” The brand’s site features a blog post sharing one woman’s experience of dating a man she later learned was an undercover officer. She claims he was spying on her and the activist group to which she belonged.

Undercover police officers have infiltrated the lives, homes, and beds of activists since 1968. Their roles were to infiltrate political groups and collect ‘intelligence’ about planned demonstrations and the individuals involved. 1/3 #SpyCopspic.twitter.com/llIfzNWGsv

As the widow of a police officer murdered on duty I am appalled at the campaign by @LushLtd the police service should be supported and respected. Who do Lush call when they have a shoplifter, their staff are abused or their stores broken into? Hang your heads in shame.

The latest "advertising" campaign by LUSH UK….. You might now expect a 100% reduction in calls to the Police, given that they're displaying their contempt in their shop windows… pic.twitter.com/LGXCZ5o7BG

The retailer addressed one shopper’s concerns on Twitter, insisting that the provocative imagery was not intended as “an anti-police campaign.”

Hello, Thanks for getting in touch with us. To clear this up, this isn't an anti-police campaign, it's to highlight the abuse that people face when their lives have been infiltrated by undercover police. https://t.co/MJGFMzPZGk ~ Tasha

That defense hasn’t done much to stem the outrage, with many shoppers calling for a boycott. Others have flooded the brand’s Facebook page with negative reviews.

“Going to put all my bath bombs down the toilet after your disrespectful and cheap shots at those who keep us all safe,” read one angry review.

I find this campaign deeply offensive not only to myself but police officers up and down the country. What ever the message was intended to say – it has been missed and you have got this very wrong @PFEW_Che@PFEW_HQ

Police Spies Out of Lives has responded to the controversy by retweeting messages supporting their mission.

Yes, the campaign from Lush is bold and provocative. But it's very clearly about #spcyops – and about the years of abuse political campaigners received from the state. It's very targeted and doesn't mention all cops at all! https://t.co/KVtV4xRw99

That's why the campaign has bravely been launched by Lush..to give people an idea of enormity of abuses committed by undercover police units over past 50 yrs. These abuses are shocking..anyone with intelligence will ask more questions..not tar all officers with the same brush.

The brand has also issued a statement with the same content to clarify the campaign’s message:

“This is not an anti-state/anti-police campaign,” it reads. “We are aware that the police forces of the U.K. are doing an increasingly difficult and dangerous job while having their funding slashed. We fully support them in having proper police numbers, correctly funded to fight crime, violence, and to be there to serve the public at our times of need.

“This campaign is not about the real police work done by those frontline officers who support the public every day — it is about a controversial branch of political undercover policing that ran for many years before being exposed.

“Our campaign is to highlight this small and secretive subset of undercover policing that undermines and threatens the very idea of democracy. There is an age-old understanding that our government and public institutions are there to protect and preserve the rights and safety of the public. In the case of these secretive undercover units, their work went well beyond the boundaries of acceptable police tactics and is now the subject of an ongoing public inquiry, which was instigated by {U.K. Prime Minister] Theresa May during her time as Home Secretary when the scale and scope of the breaches of protocols started to become clear.

“This public inquiry needs help from the public to keep it on track and ensure that this one opportunity for full honesty and disclosure is not lost or squandered. All citizens should be concerned when human rights are abandoned by those in power. The police themselves have admitted, in their public apology to seven of the females deceived into long-term relationships with police spies, that these actions were ‘a violation of the women’s human rights, an abuse of police power, and caused significant trauma.’ In a recent court case the police admitted the actions amounted to ‘inhumane and degrading treatment’ breaching Article 3 of the European Declaration of Human Rights.

“Those victims are now asking that the public inquiry demands that the undercover units release a full list of the undercover names used by their operatives, release a list of which campaign groups were targeted, and also that they release the information and data entries they hold on individuals whose lives and homes were infiltrated during these operations. Without this full disclosure there is no way of knowing the full extent of what happened during the dark years of this renegade secret policing operation — and that full disclosure might not happen unless the public demand it.”

Updated, 9:20 a.m.:Lush’s statement has been added to the original article.